Elim has had the opportunity to study and work abroad in Hong Kong, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, and Singapore. Locally, she has experience with residential projects in Honolulu, which adds to her valuable insight on both local and global architectural practice. Titled, Entry as Emotional Experience, Elim’s Master’s thesis focuses on the important sequence of entry and its dependence on the basic emotions of people. She believes that true design has to come from the spirit; whether it is the spirit of the place or the individual, the spirit exists within and is waiting to be revealed by the architect through gestures and meaning. This is the substance which inspired her Doctorate research project, Urban Feng Shui, where she developed the idea that a cultural system can be adapted to the urban design process; promoting the importance of designing for the wellbeing of people. The project received the Certificate of Merit by the American Institute of Architects (AIA).